


This Isn't Humerus

by masteroftheknightsofreylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Ben Solo, Awkward Boners, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bathing/Washing, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Broken Bones, Coming In Pants, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Menstruation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Premature Ejaculation, Rating May Change, Sort Of, Stubborn Rey (Star Wars), Undressing, Vaginal Fingering, ladies and gentlemen we're now explicit, this is a hot mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:54:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masteroftheknightsofreylo/pseuds/masteroftheknightsofreylo
Summary: When Rey's bike ride doesn't go as planned, she's happy her roommate Ben is there to help. Except it turns out that Ben would be helping her in many more ways than she'd thought.ORRey didn't realize just how much she used her arms until she broke both of them.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 23
Kudos: 127





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! if you made it past the tags, congrats. I had this awful idea one night, thought it would be a funny one shot, and here we are with multiple chapters planned.
> 
> Please let me know if this is something that anyone would actually be interested in reading, because I genuinely don't know at this point. I exclusively write late at night when I have approximately one brain cell left.
> 
> Feedback would be AWESOME! <3
> 
> -A

It was well after midnight when Ben and Rey finally left the emergency room.

What had started off as a beautiful Saturday afternoon ended up being a complete disaster, with the end result leaving Rey with two broken arms.

In celebration of her last week of classes for the year at her university, she’d decided to go on a bike ride through the local park, Ben tagging along with her. Ben and Rey had been living together for several months. Rey had found his roommate listing at the perfect time, right after a particularly nasty falling out with her previous roommate. It was half-way through the first semester, and Ben’s ad had been a godsend.

Lucky for both of them, they became quick friends, getting along well and understanding each other in a way no one else had.

Despite no longer being in school, he accompanied Rey on her joyride when she insisted that he come along. Little did she know that she’d need more than just his company that afternoon.

They were in a wooded area of the park, on a winding paved path. With no warning, a squirrel ran out of the trees and directly in front of Rey. And in true Rey fashion, not wanting to hurt the creature, she immediately slammed on the brakes, hands instantly clamping down.

Except only one of her hands reached the breaks. And wouldn’t you know, it wasn’t the back one.

Ben had been riding in front, as she screamed and flew over the handlebars head-first, trying to catch herself on the pavement with her hands. He immediately stopped, heap whipping back to see what happened. He’d ditched his bike, running to where she lay. Judging by the fact that she was physically writhing in pain, it wasn’t likely that this was something she could just brush off.

Next thing Rey knew, she was at the ER, waiting to be seen by a doctor. It ended up being several hours before she was seen. It took all of Ben’s self-control to not throttle every single doctor that walked past Rey, who hadn’t stopped sobbing the entire time.

By the time they were discharged from the hospital, Rey was completely exhausted, and higher than a kite on the painkillers they prescribed her. When the Uber that Ben called finally arrived, he gingerly helped Rey into the back seat, gently closing the door behind her. He went to the other side, hopping in the back. Once he buckled up, he heard a small, “Ben?” He looked over to find Rey looking over at him, an absolutely miserable look on her face. “I can’t get the buckle,” she whispered, the defeat evident in her voice. _‘Shit, _’ he immediately thought. He’d never seen this side of her before. “I’ve got you,” he murmured, smiling softly as he reached across her to grab the buckle. Rey’s head flopped back against the headrest. “Thank you.”__

____

____

Once Ben managed to get her buckled, his eyes skimmed across her face. Her eyes were closed, tears slowly falling down her cheeks. “No problem,” he replied honestly. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to kiss her forehead, to wipe her tears away. It was going to be a long six weeks…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would this be worth continuing? Please let me know!
> 
> -A


	2. We Can Do This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting home from the hospital, Rey is starting to realize how much she relied on her hands. Meanwhile, Ben is realizing just how screwed he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully a few people will make it past the prologue lol.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -A

Rey was already asleep by the time they pulled up in front of their apartment complex. “Rey?” he said, hoping it would somehow be enough to wake her. No such luck.

“Rey?” he tried again, placing his hand on her lower thigh lightly, blushing as he did so. Still no luck. He applied a little more force, this time giving her leg a gentle shake. “Rey?”

He watched as her brow furrowed, groaning as she opened her eyes. “Ben? Where are we?” she slurred. She was very much out of it. “We’re home,” he relied. “Let’s get you upstairs.”

Several minutes later, Ben had successfully gotten Rey out of the car, onto the elevator, and down the hall to their apartment. The moment the door closed behind them, Rey let out a sob. Ben didn’t know how to react, didn’t know what she needed. She was Rey, the fiercely independent young woman who shook Ben to his core when she moved in all those months ago. Rey, who never asked for help, always determined to get through things by herself. She was easily the strongest person Ben knew. Rey, his best friend who had helped him more than anyone ever had, is hurting, and he had no idea how to fix it.

It broke his heart.

“What can I do?” he asked softly, hand finding its way to her back. Rey didn’t respond for a moment, tucking her head towards her chest at sobs continued to wrack her body. His hand instinctively began rubbing small circles between her shoulder blades, not knowing what else to do.

“I can’t do this, Ben,” he heard her mutter finally. He was taken aback. “Can’t do what?” he asked.

“ _This _,” she snapped, turning to face him, waving her arms, immediately wincing. “I can’t live like this,” she clarified, voice softening when she looked up to Ben. She looked him in the eyes. “I can’t do anything for myself for _weeks _,” she shouted, lower lip quivering. Saying it out loud seemed to solidify her situation. Ben could see the genuine fear begin to creep into her delicate features.____

_____ _

_____ _

“No, Rey. You can do this. _We _can do this,” he said, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, thumbs rubbing small circles into her top. “I know this is going to be hard for you in so many ways, but promise me you’ll ask for help, Rey,” Ben pleads, eyes searching her face. He knew her. She would try do still do everything herself, let herself starve the death before asking for help.__

____

____

Rey remains silent, head turning away. Ben gently presses a palm to her cheek, turning her face towards him again. “Rey,” he said, a little more sternly this time. “You have to promise me. I would do _anything _for you. But you have to let me.” Ben would have already done anything for her, and by anything he meant literally anything. But this was definitely not the time nor place to mention that.__

____

____

When he still got no response, he continued, “I know this is going to be hard for you. You’re the strongest, most stubborn woman I know. And that’s really saying something, considering my mother.” At this, Rey looked up at him again, a barely-there smile reaching her lips. He smiled in return. “Please,” he breathed, “let me help you.”

Rey sighed. “I can’t promise you anything,” she began. Of course he wouldn’t be able to make her break that easy. “But I’ll try, Ben. I really will.” He nodded. “Thank you.”

Before Ben could pull away, Rey went on. “Thank you. For today. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there…” she trailed off, tears beginning to fill her eyes again.

“Hey,” Ben whispered, bringing his other hand up to cup her cheeks. “Don’t think about it. I’m glad I was there too.” And before he could stop himself, “I had a good time, up until… you know…” he nodded downwards. Rey let out a little laugh. He smiled at her.

“Why don’t we get you to bed?” he suggested, hands falling to his sides again. Rey’s eyes followed his hands, seemingly missing his touch. “Yeah,” she agreed. She sighed. “How are we gonna do this?”

That was a great question.

“Umm…” Ben started intelligently. He hadn’t thought about this, not that he would have any reason to. “Is there anything you need to do before you go to bed?” he asked awkwardly. _‘That’s creepy as fuck,’ _his brain notified him helpfully. “I mean, do you have a nightly routine you need help with?” he clarified, hoping that phrasing helped him sound like less of a pervert. Rey didn’t seem phased as she seemed to be thinking about it momentarily. “Other than showering, there’s not much else,” she answered, not seeming to be aware of what that would entail. Ben certainly didn’t miss it. “But I’ll skip that for tonight. I’ll just do it tomorrow,” she continued, clearly too tired to do anything other than sleep. She began shuffling off towards her bedroom door.__

____

____

Ben followed her silently. When she got to the door, she instinctually reached out, then stopped herself. Her defeated sigh didn’t go unnoticed. Ben reaches around her, turning the knob and pushing the door open. He leaned in closer, reaching further around her to flip the lights on. Rey groaned at the unexpected bright light. “Sorry,” he murmured close to her ear, hand brushing her shoulder as he brought it back.

At first he didn’t follow her into her room. He stood at her doorway, watching her as she stood motionless in front of her dresser. “I can’t open this either,” she said, head hanging.

_‘Fucking dumbass,’ _he mentally berated himself. Of course she couldn’t open her dresser.__

____

____

He stepped into her room, joining her in front of the dresser. “Which drawer?” he asked. “T-shirt from the middle, pajama pants from the bottom,” she answered softly, clearly not having the energy to fight him. Despite her two broken arms, Ben knew that ordinarily she would’ve still tried to open them by herself.

Ben retrieved an old college t-shirt and a threadbare pair of plaid pajama pants, gently encouraging her towards her bed. She sat down, Ben seating himself next to her. “Rey,” he started, not really sure how to word his next statement. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. The last thing I’d want to do it make you feel uncomfortable. Please tell me if I’m crossing any sort of line,” he prefaced. _‘Great. Way to set yourself up as a perv.’ ___

____

____

Rey looked up at him, brow crinkling. She remained silent during his awkward pause. He looked away. “That sounded awful. What I mean is, you’re probably not going to be able to handle… _this _,” he nods towards the pile of clothes on the bed. “I completely understand if you don’t want me to help you, I can always call—”__

____

____

“Ben,” she cut him off mid-ramble, her voice stronger than before. “I’m tired. I just want to sleep,” she continued.

Ben blushed, furious at himself and embarrassed that he would even bring up such a thing to her. “I understand,” he said quickly, standing and heading towards the door.

“Ben?” he heard again, this time seemingly questioning him. “Yeah?” he turned to face her again. She remained seated on the bed, head turned towards him. “I said I want to go to bed. What makes you think that I’m going to sleep in these clothes, or wait for you to _call _someone?” she asked. “I really don’t care at this point,” she clarified. “Please, just help me.”__

____

____

She paused, eyes widening slightly. “Unless that makes _you _uncomfortable,” she hastily tacked on. She didn’t think about the fact that Ben might not want to help her with _this. _____

_____ _

_____ _

“No, I don’t mind,” he answered, stepping towards her slowly, mind already trying to figure out how they were going to achieve this without Ben’s body betraying him.

“How do you want to do this?” he asked, unsure what her expectations were. Rey shrugged. “At this point, I don’t care,” she muttered, eyes already fluttering closed. She was crashing fast.

“Ok,” he said, more to himself than to her. He moves to stand directly in front of her. “Should we start with your shirt?” he asks hesitantly. Rey simply nods.

Gingerly, Ben grasps the hem of her sweater, beginning to pull it up, before he stops. Rey’s eyes open, looking at him. “I just—” he tries to explain, although he didn’t exactly know what point he was trying to get across. “Is this ok?” he asks, as if this were more than him simply helping her get dressed for bed.

“Just do what you need to do,” was all Rey said in reply, clearly not in the mood to give a shit about her dignity. “I just want these clothes off,” she muttered, eyes drifting shut again. Ben knew what she was talking about, knew that she didn’t mean anything other than she was fucking exhausted and just wanted to get some rest. But naturally, that didn’t stop his dick from twitching in interest. _‘You’re disgusting,’ _his brain reminded him. He gritted his teeth, silently pleading with his dick to _calm the fuck down. _____

_____ _

_____ _

He continued to lift her sweater up, careful to only look where he needed to, and nowhere else. He was fine until he made it past her chest, utilizing an embarrassing amount of self-control not to look at her tits, which were held so nicely by a simple black bra, he just so happened to notice.

Fuck.

This was not going well.

Somehow, Ben’s face manages to feel hotter, knowing that his cheeks and ears would be an embarrassing shade of tomato red. He gets to her neck and pauses, thinking. “How are we going to get your arms out?” he wonders. Rey shrugged. “One at a time? Just try something,” she answered patiently. Well, as patiently as someone could answer while falling asleep sitting upright. “I just want it off,” Rey whined, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Ben instantly felt bad, taking so long and drawing out the process longer than needed.

“I know,” he said gently, starting to work her right arm through the sleeve. Luckily, the sweater was light and stretchy, getting it over the cast in no time. He repeated the same process on the left side. He gently pulled it over her head. “There,” he murmured subconsciously. Now time for the real issue…

“Bra off too?” he asked simply, glad she still had her eyes closed. She simply nodded. This was definitely not how he’d imagined taking Rey’s bra off. Although he never thought that he would ever have the privilege of doing so.

“Ok,” he started. “How about you turn a bit, so that was I can get behind you—”

“ _Ben! _” Rey finally snapped, opening her eyes to glare at him. “I don’t give a fuck if you see me. I want to go to _sleep _,” she practically shouted. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I appreciate the help, but I just want to get this day over with. _Please _.”______

_____ _

_____ _

Ben could only nod. He steeled himself, then reached around her back as he remained standing in front of her. He fumbled with the clasp for a moment, before he finally felt it give. Determined to make her feel as comfortable as possible (or rather, not totally creep her out), he kept his eyes on her face, looking over her exhausted features. When he felt the bra start to slip from her shoulders he froze, realizing he’d have to see what he was doing to get the thing around her casts.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, giving him a small smile. He nodded, maintaining his stoic expression. “They’re just tits, Ben. Surely you’ve seen a pair or two before,” she joked. Despite everything that happened today, it didn’t completely snuff out Rey’s spirit. Ben let out a small laugh, shaking his head. “I appreciate your confidence in me,” he laughed, breaking the tension.

He went one strap at a time, carefully bringing them over her casts as gently as possible. While he did his best to not let his eyes wander, he couldn’t help but notice her breasts out of the corner of his eyes. They were small and perky, tiny pink nipples hardened by the cold air. He was dying to put his hands on them. He’d bet that his entire palm could swallow one whole.

That most definitely got his dick interested.

Rey was sitting in front of him on her bed, topless. And to add to it, she was almost at his crotch level…

He cast his eyes down, searching for the t-shirt he’d put on the bed earlier. As he was pulling it over her head, his eyes couldn’t help but to glance down, instantly repulsed by his impulse. She was absolutely gorgeous, and he was an absolute creep.

He began working quicker, but still taking care not to hurt her as he pulled the shirt on over her casts. He wanted to let her get to sleep, but he also didn’t want her to notice a… certain _situation _he had going on. His crotch was basically eye-level with her, and he knew his jeans weren’t doing a good job of hiding anything.__

____

____

Unfortunately, Rey did notice. “Damn Solo. Maybe you haven’t seen any tits before,” she looked up at him, lips curling up in a tired smirk. His eyes snapped up to her face again. He couldn’t help but notice that her smile didn’t reach her eyes, the familiar gleam not there. There were also bags under her eyes, and she sat hunched in on herself. She was masking her complete repulsion of him.

“Shit. Rey, I’m so sorry. It’s just—” he stopped, felling her lightly brush his arm with her cast. “Hey. You’re fine. I’m just kidding,” she said. “I get it. It’s just natural, right?” she asked, her smile softening. “Right,” Ben breathed. “Sorry.”

Rey chuckled. “Think you can get my pants off?” she teased. “I’d rather not sleep in these jeans.” Ben knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but he still had to bite back a moan.

He had it _bad _for this woman.__

____

____

This was most definitely not the situation in which he’d imagined removing Rey’s pants. “I think I can manage,” he muttered, helping her to her feet. She stood as Ben knelt in front of her, with him being eye-level with her crotch this time. The number of times he’d dreamed about being in this exact position…

‘ _Shut up. _’__

____

____

He made quick work of the button and zipper, beginning to pull the jeans down over the smooth, tan skin of her thighs. He was greeted by the sight of a pair of black panties that seemingly matched her bra. Trying to not process this new bit of information, he worked her pants all the way off, before quickly tugging her pajama pants on.

Before he could do anything else to embarrass himself, he stood and went to the side of her bed, pulling back the covers. “You got it from here?” he asks, only turning his head to look back at her. Just in case taking her top off didn’t get a _solid _reaction out of him, removing her pants sure did.__

____

____

“Yep,” she confirmed, joining him at the side of her bed. She sat, then slowly laid down. “I never realized how much I use my hands,” she said absentmindedly. Ben was starting to realize that too.

Once she was settled, he tucked her in. “Thank you, Ben,” Rey said, her generosity evident in her voice. Ben smiled at her sleepily. “No problem. Goodnight, Rey.” “Night,” Rey murmured, eyes already drifting shut.

Ben turned the lights out, shutting her door behind him as he left.

Now it was time for a very cold shower…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you all think!
> 
> -A


	3. How is This Going to Work?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to navigate Rey's morning routine is proving to be more difficult than Ben and Rey would've thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can tell that quarantine has really been getting to me, because why the hell am I writing this.
> 
> I apologize for the following (and previous) garbage lmao
> 
> -A

After a restless night of sleep, Ben was woken up to the sound of scratching. He squeezed his eyes shut, brow creasing in annoyance as the scratching sound just would not stop. It took several moments before Ben was awake enough to process the sound.

It was coming from across the hall.

From Rey’s room.

Fuck.

He was instantly wide awake, yesterday’s events coming back to him. He stumbled out of bed, somehow awake enough to quickly think of throwing on a t-shirt and sweatpants. When he made it across the hall to Rey’s room, he paused. The scratching sound was still present, accompanied by muffled obscenities. It sounded like was trying to claw her way out of the room, with very little success.

“Rey?”

Silence.

“Rey?” he tried again. “May I come in?” Still no reply. Instead, he heard quiet sniffling, followed by the creak of her mattress. Ben sighed. “If you’re decent, I’m coming in,” he announced. “Don’t worry,” she replied, “It’s not like I’d be able to get undressed.” She sounded thoroughly pissed off and bitter.

_‘Shit. Really didn’t think that one through,’ _he thought, wincing at his own stupidity.__

__Without further delay, he opened her door, first cracking it open, peeking in. Rey was sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked up at him silently as he pushed the door open all the way. Several awkward moments of silence followed._ _

__“Did you need something?” Rey finally asked, dark circles under her eyes. “Uhh… no. I was actually going to ask you that. I heard you trying to open the door, and…” he trailed off, not wanting to say the wrong thing yet again._ _

__Rey hung her head, sighing. “I woke you up, didn’t I,” she asked. Ben frowned. “Yes? But it’s not a big deal. I normally get up around this time anyways,” he shrugged, not really sure why it would matter if she woke him up or not._ _

__“Sorry,” she murmured. “Don’t be,” he responded automatically. “It’s really not a big deal, Rey.”_ _

__“But it is. Because this is what it’s going to be like for the next _six weeks, _” she snapped back. Looking up at him, the tears on her cheeks were now visible to Ben.___ _

____Ah. He understood now._ _ _ _

____Feeling bold, he stepped into her room, and cautiously sat down next to her of the edge of her mattress. “I can’t do anything. I can’t open the fucking _door _without help,” she continued. “And I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, because there’s people that are going through so much worse, but I can’t do _anything _by myself, Ben.”_____ _ _ _

________More tears, now streaming quicker down her cheeks. “And I don’t know what I’m going to do, how I’m going to take care of myself—”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Rey.” Ben cut her off, stopping her before her panic set in all the way. “I know you’re scared, and that’s a normal reaction. But you don’t have to be,” he reached out. Slowly, his hand found her cheek, thumb brushing away her tears. “I’ll take care of you. Your friends will help you.” When she tried to look away, he knew what she was thinking. Shame for not being able to take care of herself, a skill that she’d grown to be proud of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“This isn’t anything to be ashamed about,” he went on. She closed her eyes, unable to meet his. He could tell that she didn’t believe him. _‘Ever my stubborn girl…’ _____ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hey,” he whispered. “Everyone needs help sometimes. I know you always want to be the one helping, but please, let me take care of you. Just this once.” He smiled at her gently, hoping she’d open her eyes and see just how much he meant it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She pushed her cheek into his palm. He felt the slight give of her body, releasing some of her built up tension._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Thank you,” she breathed. Her tears were beginning to subside, becoming a slow drip from the corner of her hazel eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Ben was slightly taken aback. It was unlike her to cave so quickly when it came to getting help. “Giving in that easily on me Niima?” he asked, teasingly. His thumb continued stroking her cheek. It was enough to get a smile out of her. “Nah. Just not awake enough to give you hell yet,” she replied. “Just you wait.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________It made Ben’s heart leap in his chest, hearing Rey sound like her usual self again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Do you need anything at the moment?” he asked. Based on the way she’d been trying to claw herself out, she must’ve needed something. She nodded, pulling away from his palm reluctantly. Standing, she looked back, a silent plea for him to follow._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He stood, following her down the hall, heartrate picking up ever so slightly as she went into their shared bathroom._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Right. She had to go to the bathroom in the morning. Like a normal human._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Not a problem at all._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Ben followed her in cautiously, not daring to be the first one to speak. “So,” Rey began, seemingly not knowing where this conversation should go either. “I need to piss. Badly. And then shower.” All Ben could do was nod._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What do you need from me?” he asked simply, realizing that grey sweatpants probably weren’t the best idea. Rey thought for a second before answering. “I think if you just get my pants, I’ll be fine.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________‘Just _get my pants. Much easier said than done.’ _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“What about showering?” he asked before he could stop himself. If his question seemed perverted, Rey didn’t show it, simply shrugging in response. “That’s a later problem.” Ben didn’t really see how this was a _later problem _, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She shuffled over to the toilet, turning to face Ben, face already bright red. “Ben, I am so sorry—” she began— “No, don’t be,” he reassured her. “I’ve got you,” he said, probably for the millionth time already in past 12 hours. She lowered her gaze, chewing her bottom lip nervously. “This is so embarrassing,” she whined. “No, it’s not. Rey, I really don’t care.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Besides,” he continued. “I’ve seen you completely shit-faced. Trust me when I say this is fine,” he laughed, his smile putting her at ease. It got a giggle out of Rey. “Good point,” she conceded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________A brief, silent pause before, “Ok, Ben we need to do this now. I _really gotta go, _” she admitted, her embarrassment still evident in her voice. “Ok,” Ben breathed, not realizing how nervous he was in this situation. It now seemed like he was the one that was in need of some encouragement.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Without further ado, he tucked his thumbs in the waistband of her pajama pants, making sure to catch her panties this time too._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________His dick definitely made sure of that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He knelt awkwardly, not sure if that would make the removal process easier or not. Either way, standing or kneeling, he would still end up with a face full of _Rey _. Once situated, he looked up at her face, his eyes not leaving hers until her bottoms were pulled down past her knees. Her blush never left, even after sitting down on the toilet.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Now what?” Ben asked stupidly, still kneeling in front of her. Standing up had now become a rather dangerous game, and he hoped to make an exit before it got even _harder _. “Umm… just tear me off some toilet paper and I should be fine. I think I have enough strength to… wipe,” she explained, her face now a brilliant shade of crimson. Ben nodded, ripping off a handful of toilet paper and handing it to her. She fumbled with it momentarily, grabbing it in between the thumb and middle finger of her right hand. He quickly stood, facing away from her as quick as possible.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Yell when you’re done. I’ll… be in my room,” he finished lamely before walking out, closing the door firmly behind him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________After the brief walk back to his room, he looked down. While it could have been much worse, Ben still had a noticeable bulge, the grey sweatpants only drawing more attention to his situation. He groaned in frustration, knowing he had no time to solve this problem. As much as it grossed him out, he thought about his mother, father, his outrageously hair uncle Chewie, anything that could get him to _calm the fuck down. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Rey was right. It was going to be a ridiculously long six weeks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Ben’s familial thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the toilet flushing, followed by a muffled, “Ben?” a few moments later._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Ben glanced down one last time, thankful that things had died down. He didn’t feel totally disgusting about Rey seeing him like this now. “Coming,” he called, leaving his room and making it to the bathroom door in a few quick strides. “May I come in?” he asked. “Yeah.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________He came in, eyes cast on the floor, not wanting to invade her privacy as much as he could manage, given the circumstances. “Don’t worry,” Rey said, noticing his lack of eye contact. “I’m decent. Sort of,” she explained. Looking up, he saw that she’d managed to pull one of the towels that had been hanging up, placing it on her lap, where she was seated on top of closed toilet lid. “I was able to manage this, at least,” she nodded at the towel._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“Ah,” was all Ben could come up with, standing in the doorframe uselessly. After a brief pause, he asked, “So what do we want to do now? I can call Rose and see if she’s able to come over, or—” “Can’t,” Rey shook her head, grimacing. “She left for that internship out of town right after her last final. She won’t be back until the fall.” Ben frowned, eyes cast down again, pondering their other options. Rey beat him to it. “Finn and Poe also left for vacation, and won’t be back for two weeks,” she continued, thus eliminating all of her close friend options who could help her out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Except for Ben._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________He looked up at her again, meeting her steady gaze. “Ben, will you help me?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Her question was completely serious, not even an edge of her usual playfulness that Ben had grown fond of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________Shit. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Of course,” he automatically replied before his brain could process what that might entail. With both of her arms being out of commission, and needing to be completely covered, that left him to the cleansing portion of this activity. Which would no doubt entail some handsy-ness on his end._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________His face flushed red at the thought, and he was pretty sure that his ears would’ve burst into flame at this point if it were humanly possible. “Okay,” he let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “What’s our plan?” he asked, genuinely unsure of how she thought this was going to play out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Rey sat silently for a moment, her furrowed brow indicating she was trying to come up with _something. _“First off, we need to cover these,” she waggled her casted up arms. “You think trash bags and tape or something like that will work?” she asked. Ben contemplated her idea for a second before nodding. “Yeah that’ll probably work,” he replied. “I’ll be right back. Think about how this is gonna go.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________He left the bathroom, heading towards their tiny kitchen. He grabbed two trash bags from under the sink. While going through every drawer imaginable trying to find some sort of tape that could possibly work, he spotted several rubber bands laying on the counter. Abandoning his quest to locate tape, he grabbed the rubber bands, heading back to the bathroom._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Alright. So I got two of those smaller trash bags we got a while ago, and I found rubber bands instead of tape. I figured that way it’ll still be fairly watertight, and we can reuse the bags, and it’ll be less hard on your skin,” he rambled, setting the supplies on the counter. Rey smiled softly. “Thanks.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Of course.” Ben took one of the bags and two rubber bands over to where she was still seated, trying to ignore the fact that the only thing covering her was the towel haphazardly thrown over her lap. He gently took her left arm, sliding the bag over her cast. Then, he placed the bands right above the end of the cast. “There. That should work.” He pulled at the top, seeing how well it sealed. “Does this feel ok?” he asked. Rey nodded. “It’s not too tight,” she confirmed. After getting the second bag in place, he looked up at her. “So. Any great ideas?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Maybe. I’m not sure how well this will work. Obviously I can’t wash myself…” she seemed hesitant to continue. “What if you got in with me? Not like, naked, but… just so you could help.” Ben had never seen her face so red in his life, while also feeling like he’d never blushed this hard before. “Um… yeah that’ll work. Let me see if I can find something…” he quickly went back to his room, digging through all of his dresser drawers until he found what he was looking for._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Removing his shirt and pants, he put on the old swim trunks he’d held onto since college for whatever reason. Ben couldn’t even remember the last time he went swimming. In the few years following his graduation, he’d managed to fully grow into his lanky frame, primarily by going to the gym regularly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________He looked in the mirror and groaned internally. He definitely got these shorts well before he got his gym membership. They were too small, riding up higher than intended, and already making things tight and more noticeable than Ben would have preferred in this situation. But it’s not like he had any other reasonable options._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________With one last glance in the mirror, Ben steeled himself. He exited his room, making his way back to the bathroom, in which he would be subjected to one of the most awkward experiences of his life._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	4. Sticky Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben helps Rey in the shower, and quickly realizes that it was an awful idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all this took FOREVER I'm so sorry to like the 3 people that might actually like this fic lmao. This was so much harder to write than I anticipated, and I'm not really happy with how it turned out. But oh well it's better than nothing, right?
> 
> -A

When Ben stepped back into the bathroom, Rey looked up, and then immediately looked away again. She mentally chastised herself, not understanding why she was so shocked. She knew why he’d removed his shirt, considering what they were about to do. And she’d seen him shirtless plenty of times before walking around the apartment. But somehow in this setting, knowing what they were about to do, she found him to be even more enticing than ever.

When she’d looked up, her eyes landed on Ben’s very solid, very defined abs, with an enticing deep V leading below the waistband of his swim trunks, which happened to look a little small. Not that Rey was _trying_ to look there.

Ever since Rey moved in, she’d found Ben Solo to be the most attractive man she’d ever encountered. She didn’t know what it was exactly that appealed to her so much. His face was beautiful in its own unique way, with an odd conglomeration of features that just _shouldn’t_ fit together like that. But somehow it did, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Rey. She also appreciated the fact that he was tall, and ridiculous broad. While Rey wasn’t a particularly short woman, she most definitely felt dwarfed by her roommate.

So now here Ben was, half naked and prepared to shower with her. Or more accurately, give her a shower, as fucking weird as it sounded. While she was disappointed that a majority of her friends were out of town and unable to assist, she certainly wasn’t disappointed by her last resort.

Ben shuffled nervously, still standing in the doorway. He’d seen how quickly she looked away, no doubt feeling uncomfortable by his lack of clothing. _‘Fuck, I didn’t mean—'_

“I can go put my shirt—” he started to offer— “No,” Rey blurted rather enthusiastically. “No. You’re fine. I’m fine,” she stammered, not seeming entirely fine. “Right,” he deadpanned. Rey’s blush returned.

He cautiously stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself. Both their heartrates spiked. This was getting real.

He went over to the closet directly in front of where Rey was still seated, grabbing two towels. Rey took full advantage of her view, with Ben’s sculpted ass only inches away from her face. She felt slightly guilty for ogling him, especially in his own home, but there was still a small part of her that couldn’t seem help it.

He naturally turned to where the towel rack was located on the wall behind the toilet, pausing before reaching over her. He finally processed just how in-her-face his ass had been. “Sorry about that… didn’t really think that one through… obviously,” he apologized sheepishly. Rey couldn’t help but laugh at his fumbling apology.

“Ben, you’re fine. It wasn’t a bad view,” she teased. Ben knew she was just joking, that it was just in Rey’s nature to make lighthearted comments like this, but there was still a part of him deep down that hoped against all odds that she _wasn’t_ kidding. That he actually had a chance. But considering the fact that she looked like _that_ , and the fact that he’s looked in the mirror recently, there was no way in hell it would ever happen.

Based on the number of times he’s listened to her complain about male coworkers hitting on her, or men making a move at the bar, or how terrible her first (and only) dates were, he knew she had plenty of options. None of which being him.

He tried to push that thought out of his mind as he set the towels on the edge of the counter instead before helping Rey to her feet. Sadly for Ben, he’d forgotten the towel that had been hastily thrown across her lap. Which was now laying in a crumpled heap on the floor at their feet.

 _“Fuck!”_ Ben hissed, “I completely forgot about the towel,” he apologized quickly. Rey shrugged. “I mean, we’d have to get it over with at some point,” she pointed out. Ben wasn’t sure how his face managed to feel even more on fire at this comment.

Trying to avoid the fact that Rey was standing half-naked directly in front of him, he turned, reaching into the shower to turn the water on. The bathroom was filled with the noise of the spray.

“Mind helping me get this?” she asked, pointedly looking down at her t-shirt-clad torso. She looked up at him, seemingly amused. “You also might want to grab a washcloth? Might make it a little less weird.”

Ben hadn’t thought about that.

_‘Perv. Of course you didn’t think of that.’_

“Right. Good idea.” He retrieved the thin scrap of fabric from the closet. Turning back to her, he quickly pulled her shirt up, trying desperately not to get distracted. “Probably should’ve done this before putting the trash bags on…” he muttered, focusing on getting her casts through without messing up the rubber band seal. “We’ll know for next time, right?” she pointed out, making a valiant attempt to lighten the tension in the small bathroom.

God bless her. She was trying. But there was only so much she could do to ease the nerves of the man she was about to shower with, who’d been pining after her for months. And he couldn’t help but notice the lovely blush that had started to form on her chest in bright red blotches. It was an accidental glimpse, but it didn’t mean that his dick didn’t enjoy it any less.

Once fully naked, Ben turned back to the shower, desperate not to let Rey see how much she was affecting him. “After you,” he mumbled, holding back the shower curtain for her while keeping his hips strategically turned away from her. “What a gentleman,” she hummed sarcastically, stepping into the shower. Ben’s hand shot out automatically to her waist, steadying her as she stepped over the edge of the tub. He didn’t _try_ to watch her ass cheeks bounce lightly as she stepped over the edge of the tub, into the shower.

Washcloth in hand, Ben stepped in behind her, pulling the curtain shut behind him. He most definitely wasn’t prepared to be this up close and personal with his roommate in this setting. His crotch was mere inches from her ass, chest almost touching her back. It seemed neither of them had really thought about just how small their shower really was, especially with the addition of both her casts. Before Ben had time to process what this might mean for a certain body part of his, Rey turned.

“This is… cozy,” she managed, looking up at him, back to the stream of warm water. He looked down.

If he thought simply taking her shirt off was a lot to process, he was most definitely not prepared for this sight.

While Ben tried desperately to keep his eyes on her face, his eyes briefly glanced down on their own accord before snapping back up. And he thought her perky little tits looked good dry…

He couldn’t help but notice her small, shy smile. Ben decided that now was not the time to try and decipher whatever that reaction could’ve meant. Right now, he was a man on a mission. “What now?” he asked, trying to give her as much space as possible while also not staring her down, which was much easier said than done. He still couldn’t help but notice how he could still see her tits while looking at her face, her little pink nipples hard in the edge of his vision.

They hadn’t even started yet and Ben was already falling apart.

“How about we start with my hair?” She stepped back, head directly under the stream. “Ok,” Ben muttered lamely, not knowing where or how she needed him. Glancing at her face again, he noticed her head tipped back, eyes closed as she soaked her hair. Ben took advantage of this opportunity, glancing down to assess the _damage._

Well, it could’ve been worse, he supposed.

The outline of his cock was only moderately obscene at the moment. The dark material helped hide it, along with the somewhat dim lighting in the shower. He knew it was only going to get _harder_ from here. He also managed to catch a glimpse of _other_ parts of Rey that didn’t help his situation at all. He was easily half hard already, and he hadn’t even touched her warm, wet body yet. Ben knew he was in for it.

He grabbed what he presumed was her shampoo. “This is?” he asked, holding the bottle up. Cracking an eye open, she glanced at the bottle in question. “Yep,” she confirmed. She stepped out from under the spray, directly in front of him again. He stared at her blankly for a moment, before realizing that was his que to get washing. “Ok. So why don’t you turn around so I can get to your hair easier?” he asked. Rey shook her head. “I don’t really want to drown, thanks.”

Right. Getting a face full of water wasn’t typically pleasant, especially considering she had no way of wiping water out of her face effectively at the moment.

“Good point,” he agreed. “How ‘bout we switch…” he suggested, hands awkwardly going to her shoulders as he tried to maneuver them around one another in the cramped space. His attempt at avoiding any accidental touching anywhere else was somehow successful. Once they were situated with his back to the stream, he got to work shampooing her hair, trying to work as quickly and gently as possible. As he was working the shampoo into her roots, Rey’s head tipped back again, a moan falling from her lips.

His hands froze momentarily, brain short-circuiting and dick twitching. He sincerely hoped she didn’t take notice. “Sorry,” she apologized hurriedly. “I didn’t mean to—it just feels really good,” she mumbled, sounding… embarrassed?

Ben chuckled. “All good. Just a natural reaction.” She shuffled. “Right. Natural.” Silently, he finished up. “Trade places again?” She nodded, stepping to the side as best she could and turning, letting his squeeze past. He managed to get around her again without brushing up against her. Except this time, he noticed the swell of her tight ass, and the way the shampoo was trailing down her back, over her soft curves.

Ben could feel more blood instantly rushing south at the sight.

He was fucked.

Trying to ignore how beautiful his roommate was, he positioned himself in front of her again, having her step back until the top of her head was under the stream. He gently ran his hand through her hair, making sure he got all the shampoo out. She hummed contentedly.

“Can you get my face next?” she asks. “Yeah.” He began searching for what could possibly be her face wash out of the numerous bottles and containers that lined the edge of their shower. “It’s that one over there,” she said, trying to point in the general direction of the product that happened to be at the other end of the shower, right past Ben. While he glanced back at her to see where she was pointing, he saw her eyes widen, glued to his crotch before looking away again.

Whoops.

“ _Fuck_. Rey, I don’t mean it like that, I—”

“Ben. It’s natural, right? I understand,” she reassured him for the millionth time. This seemed to be their new catch phrase. “It doesn’t make me uncomfortable or anything. Trust me,” she met his eyes, holding his gaze. She was blushing profusely. Ben looked away. “I’m sorry.” Rey snorted. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Let’s just keep going.”

Trying to shrink back from her even further, Ben grabbed her face scrub, rubbing small, easy circles around her delicate features. He was finally living out a fantasy he’d imagined for an embarrassedly long time; holding Rey’s face in his hands, despite being under much different circumstances than he would’ve preferred. But he would take what he could get at this point.

Getting conditioner in her hair was next, going relatively smoothly. Ben was starting to get more comfortable, thinking they were just about done until Rey spoke up. “Now you’ll need the washcloth. So you can… wash the rest of me,” she finished quietly.

Great.

Right when Ben had thought he’d been doing a pretty decent job at ignoring the way the water ran between her small, perky breasts, or the warmth radiating from her, he was now tasked with running his hands over all of that. His only consolation was the fact that there would be a tiny, thin scrap of cloth between his hand and her warm body. Not much of a consolation at all…

“Okay,” Ben breathed, trying (and failing) to sound collected. Grabbing the washcloth, he wetted it, and squeezed what he deemed to be an appropriate amount of soap onto it. “Where?” he asked as he lathered the rag up.

“Everywhere,” she murmured, barely audibly over the hiss of the shower. There was a heavy silence that followed. They both knew exactly what that implied. “Are you okay with that, Ben?” she asked, breaking the silence. Ben swallowed, throat suddenly dry. He figured this would have to happen, but hearing her say it made it real. “Yes.”

He started off on her back, running the cloth over the smooth, tan expanse of her shoulders, only daring to dip down to her lower back. Feeling bold, he stepped closer, gently pushing her hair over one shoulder to reach her neck. “This ok?” he asked, voice deeper than usual. Rey nodded, trying to ignore how close he sounded.

By now he was back to being only a few inches away from his chest being flushed against her back. If he got any closer, other things would become flushed with other places.

Ben gently placed his left hand on her shoulder, trying to get closer with minimal touching. He slowly began reaching around, washcloth in hand, trying to judge her reaction as he started reaching lower and lower down her chest. He’d just skimmed the tops of her breasts when he heard her breath hitch.

He paused. “This ok?” he breathed, somehow managing to sound even closer than before. She simply nodded again, not trusting herself to speak in that moment.

Ben continued, making small circular motions as he went over her tits. He had to bite back a moan as he felt her hardened nipples under the cloth, and the way his hand would be able to cup them so easily, even with the washcloth in the way. He had to bite back a moan, starting to feel his pulse in places other than his chest. He could’ve sworn he heard her sigh. “Cold?” he chuckled, in what he sincerely hoped was not a creepy way.

“Just a bit,” she huffed. “Believe it or not, it’s chilly when you’re not directly under the water.” She looked back at him, and then over his shoulder. He wasn’t even standing fully under the stream. “Why don’t you scoot back some…” she suggested, taking a small step backwards, trying to get closer to the warm water—

Rey was quick, but luckily Ben was quicker. He immediately bent backwards at the hips awkwardly, managing to move his crotch away from Rey’s ass quick enough so that she wouldn’t accidently feel just how turned on he was. Taking a small step back, he righted himself again, blowing out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

“Better?” he asked dryly, now getting the full force of the shower on the back of his head instead of on his shoulders. He felt like a drowned rat. It didn’t seem to make much difference for Rey. “A little,” she admitted. “Just go quick, I guess.” Ben snorted. “Right. I’ll stop taking my time, princess.” Rey shook her head at his response, letting out a small laugh. “You’d better. My nipples might freeze off at this rate.” Ben couldn’t help but laugh. Even in this fucking weird situation, Rey was still able to crank out her characteristic smartass comments. He continued the circling motion around her breast again with the cloth. “Not if I can help it,” he said before giving his brain time to process what exactly it was that he was saying.

Determining that her perky chest was plenty clean, he moved his hand lower, gliding across her abdomen. He saw her suck in a breath as he passed over the stretch of skin below her naval. “Still ok?” he asked, genuine concern creeping into his voice. He wanted to make sure that she still felt comfortable, and not weirded out by the fact that her roommate was essentially feeling her up. Rey simply nodded.

He continued sliding his hand down slowly, trying to watch her, judging her reaction as his hand crept lower and lower. He was only a mere inch or two away from reaching her center, she spoke up. “Ben, wait.”

He immediately pulled his hand away, not wanting to cross any more lines than he already had.

“Could you not use the washcloth… down there?” she asked, sounding hesitant. A beat of silence passed between them, heavy with implication. “Sure,” he set the cloth down on the edge of the tub. “How should I proceed?” he asked, voice almost unrecognizably low and gravely. Rey had to contain a shudder. He was close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from his broad chest on her back.

“Well, I normally just use my hand…” she admitted. Even from Ben’s perspective behind her, he could see the bright red blush that was creeping higher and higher on her cheek bones.

This was not going to be easy for either of them.

Ben decided that it would just be best to cut to the chase, not bothering to beat around the bush. “How do you use your hand?” he asked, sounding genuinely unsure. This was very much starting to feel like the beginning of a bad porno.

Rey groaned, hating the fact that she had to explain it. Of course, it wasn’t Ben’s fault. It wasn’t shocking that he didn’t know how to clean a body part that he didn’t own. He could tell that she was starting to get frustrated. “I’m sorry, Rey. I just don’t want to do it wrong,” he apologized. She sighed. “No, you’re fine. I get it. I’m just so fucking _pissed_ at this situation. I can’t do _anything_.” He could tell that she was beginning to spiral again. He wasn’t about to let her go down this rabbit hole again.

“Hey,” he tried to soothe her, gently placing a massive palm on her shoulder. “I know you’re upset, but I’m here for you. I really don’t mind,” he reassured her for the umpteenth time, thumb subconsciously rubbing small circles into her skin. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it. It’s not embarrassing at all.”

“Easy for you to say,” she snapped back automatically, instantly regretting it. “Sorry. Ok. Let’s get this over with.”

“First of all, we’re going to have to switch places. I need to be directly under the water so the water can, you know, run into the proper place…” This was by far the most awkward thing she’d ever have to explain to anyone. Ben nodded in agreement. He tried hard not to think about that concept. “Okay.”

As Rey began trying to shuffle around his again, she happened to glance down. She noticed that things were looking a little…tighter. She smirked. “You like this idea?” she asked cheekily, trying to stifle a giggle. While this was by far the most bizarre experience of her life, she had to admit it wasn’t the _worst_. She’d always enjoyed poking fun at Ben, and there was a small part of her that pretended that his body was reacting this way because of _her_. But she knew deep down that this couldn’t be true. She’d been glaringly obvious in her attraction towards him, and he still hadn’t made any sort of move. It was just a natural reaction, and she had to accept that. But there was no way in hell Rey would pass up the opportunity to make Ben blush like that, watching the tips of his ears turn absolutely crimson.

“Evidently,” he murmured. Rey’s eyes flicked back up to his, her surprise evident.

 _‘Where did that come from?’_ she wondered. It was most definitely not like Ben Solo to be cocky, unless it work-related. Which this definitely was not.

“Let’s get to it then,” she chuckled, her back facing him as she now stood under the warm stream. This time, Ben didn’t hesitate in stepping up behind her, widening his stance in order to get closer. She could feel the heat from his chest on her back again, but still not close enough to touch. Slowly, he reached around her waist with his right hand, the left going to her hip. With all caution seemingly gone, he gently rested him palm on her naval, right above where she wanted (and actually needed) him the most.

“Still think this is a good idea?” he murmured, this time directly into her ear, lips hovering mere millimeters away from her sensitive lobe. She couldn’t help but shudder. “Please, Ben.”

It was all Ben needed to hear to feel one-hundred percent confident in what was going to come next. While Ben had never been with a woman, much to his shame, and that wasn’t even their intent, he was still worried about his _performance._

With his years of infrequent porn-watching, he sincerely hoped he knew where she would need… cleaning… without getting too handsy or asking too many questions.

His hand sunk lower, encountering the small patch of groomed hair. It was his turn to shudder. Desperately trying to remember his task, he rubbed his hand over her hair, right above where she wanted him the most. Did this part need to get washed? “ _Ben_ ,” she whined, seeming to get impatient.

Nope.

He brought his hand lower, lightly skimming the hood of her clit, teasing her folds as he finally cupped her entire sex in his palm. Before he could stop himself, a deep, gravely moan escaped his throat, dick twitching in response to its fantasy _finally_ coming true. Except his penis didn’t seem to understand that these were very much not the right circumstances in which it would’ve liked it to take place. But beggars can’t be choosers, his dick supposed.

Ben was just close enough for his dick to gently tap her ass, making sure to do it again after feeling her warmth just for good measure. You know, just in case she didn’t notice the first time.

Ben froze, all of his new-found confidence evaporating in an instant.

“Don’t stop,” Rey breathed, barely audible over the hiss of the showerhead. He nodded, despite not being visible to her. “Tell me where to go from here,” he encouraged her, hand completely still as his palm still cupped her delicately. Just like her breasts, she fit perfectly in his hand.

“Uh…” Rey began intelligently. The heat of the moment was quickly fading for her, realizing that she was about to try and explain her _cleansing process_ to her roommate/best friend/crush. “I just… run my hand over it? Through it? Fuck, Ben. I don’t know to describe it. It’s not a complicated process. I already sound fucking insane,” she clearly sounded upset. He watched as she shook her head. “Just forget it,” she muttered. “This must be so fucking weird for you, and I’m so sorry, I—” she tried stepping away from Ben.

“Rey,” he still gripped her, stepping back up to meet her. He leaned down, more like over her, “I’m okay if you’re okay.” Rey sighed, nodding. He sensed some of the tension in her shoulders ease.

Without further instruction, Ben began moving his hand again, Rey silently mourning the loss of his nice, warm, _huge_ hand that had been engulfing her so nicely. His fingers trailed back up to the top of her mound, carefully beginning to ease their way down. Right as he was about to reach the hood of her little nub, his fingers split, going through her outermost folds. “Is this what you meant?” he asked sincerely, gently moving his fingers up and down through her outermost folds. She nodded again.

“Keep going?”

Nod.

Ben swallowed thickly as he mustered up the courage to essentially finger his long-time crush in the most sterile, clinical way he could, if such a thing were possible. At this point, it would be impossible to glance down at himself, to check in on his predicament. He was too close to her to look down without her noticing. Being this close to her and having his hand down there, he definitely felt even more blood rushing south, feeling his dick gently twitching. To his horror, he began to feel a new sensation on the head of his cock.

This couldn’t possibly be happening. Never in his entire life had Ben felt more convinced that his life was a complete and utter joke.

He didn’t even have to look down to know what it was. The head of his now entirely rock-hard cock was sticking out the bottom of his swim trunks, the air feeling cool without being under the hot stream of water.

_Fucking hell._

He knew these shorts were short, but _fuck_ he didn’t think that the lack of elasticity in the material would be an issue. And naturally, his young, dumb college self just _had_ to cut the annoying mesh lining out the moment he bought them, thus providing absolutely no protection from this sort of scenario.

In college-Ben’s defense, he never would have anticipated anything close to this situation. Hell, he never thought he’d manage to shower with a woman.

Nevertheless, Ben continued his ministrations, huge fingers sliding between her outer folds. After several passes, he felt like that area would be reasonably clean, right? He had no clue what he was doing.

“All of it?” he murmured, lips almost grazing her ear, breath hot on her skin. In the back of Ben’s mind, he felt slightly saddened by the fact that this has been the most sexual encounter he’s had with a woman his whole life.

“Please, Ben,” she breathed.

His head spun momentarily, thinking about what he was about to do.

Briefly taking his fingers away, he parted her inner lips with his middle finger. With his limited porn viewing, he knew he was about to touch _the_ hole. Theoretically. Not wanting to accidently put his finger _into_ said hole, he lightly skimmed upwards. Suddenly, he felt even more heat accompanied by some kind of slickness. He felt Rey shiver. Not a moment later, his finger bumped into a hard little nub at the top. Ben shuddered, feeling dangerously close to losing it.

_‘Was that—'_

Rey gasped, hips jerking at the sudden stimulation.

_‘Yep.’_

Ben was at least aware of what that was.

Choosing to ignore her reaction, he continued working his fingers up and down her slit. There was still that slick substance coming from her entrance. The water continued to beat down on the pair as Ben worked silently, brow furrowing. As hard as he was trying, this stuff just wasn’t coming off with the water.

Ben’s focus was interrupted when he noticed Rey’s now somewhat labored breathing, her eyes shut. Surely she wasn’t enjoying this…

“Should I get a clean washcloth? It doesn’t seem to want to—”

“Leave it, Ben,” he saw her eyes snap back open out of the corner of his eyes, quickly turning her head to the side, blocking his view of her face. “But there’s still something slick? It doesn’t seem to want to come off with just the water, so I thought—”

“You do realize that the more you touch me, the worse that _problem_ will get, right?” she asks dryly.

Oh.

‘That’s _what that was…’_

He’d imagine she’d cross her arms at this moment if she could, giving him that pointed look that she was so good at whenever Ben managed to fuck up something simple. His blood-deprived brain finally caught up. He quickly removed his hand. He took in a shaky breath, feeling his balls beginning to tighten. It was embarrassing how close he was to finishing without even being touched.

“I think we’re done here,” Rey said curtly as soon as he removed his hand, instinctively leaning into the stream to reach for the tap. While doing so, she bent forward at the waist. Sadly for Ben, he wasn’t fast enough this time.

Rey’s bare ass made _firm_ contact with his completely rock-hard cock, and that was all it took to tip Ben over the edge.

He couldn’t bite back the low groan that escaped his lips as his hips involuntarily thrust into her perky rear, cock twitching violently as he spent himself. And thanks to the swimming trunks being so short, there was no way for him to hide the liquid evidence of what just occurred. And to his added horror, there was an _obscene_ amount of it.

Rey was frozen, casted up arm still reaching towards the shower knobs in vain. Judging by watching her back, her breathing came ragged. The now lukewarm water pounded against the tile around them as they remained motionless, scared of what the fallout from this situation might be.

Ben was the first one to move. He pulled away, grabbing the long-forgotten washcloth from the side of the tub and hastily wiped her ass free of his spend, the white substance a stark contrast against her beautifully tanned skin. Just in case Ben wasn’t already convinced that his life was one big joke and that he was for sure going to hell, this just sealed the deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this wasn't too awful. I've got a few more chapters in mind, but at this point I have no idea how long this dumpster fire will go on for. Believe it or not, I intended for this to be a one shot. And here we are. Maybe it won't take me like a whole ass month to write the next one lmao
> 
> -A


	5. How Could This Get Any Worse?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things somehow manage to get worse when Rey gets a fun surprise at the end of their first week of their new lifestyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my ranting is in the end notes, but I've recently picked this fic back up, so I figured I'd just go ahead and keep posting what I have written in case anyone actually wants to read it lol.
> 
> Also: check the tags! Very minor change, but just to be safe! <3

Rey was shocked, to say the least.

She stood with her casted-up arm uselessly extended, trying to turn the water off, while her bare ass was being frantically wiped down by her now-panicking roommate.

She had absolutely no idea where to go from here.

If it were up to her, she would just never bring it up again, going on with life like it had never happened, adding the incident to her already lengthy list of wasted opportunities to tell him how she really felt. Although for most normal people, confessing your love to the man who was wiping his _plentiful_ jizz off your ass wouldn’t be considered the most appropriate time to do so. 

Rey knew Ben well enough by now to know that he would be spiraling right about now, burrowing deep into his pit of despair, mentally berating himself to absolutely no end. He’d always acted so reserved around her, in terms of physical contact. He never let a touch linger for too long, never let his eyes wander places that most men didn’t bother hiding. He was a blessing, if she were being honest. Not once has he made her feel uncomfortable or intimidated, which was impressive for a man of his size and physique.

She most definitely appreciated this quality in her roommate, but at the same time, she didn’t appreciate it. He was the first man that she wouldn’t mind if he glanced at her body, or let his touch linger after he’d place his hand on her waist to scoot behind her in their cramped kitchen. She _wanted_ his hands and his eyes on her body. And while she could pretend all the wanted that his body reacted this way because of _her_ , she knew deep down that that wasn’t the case. He’d made it abundantly clear over the past several months that he wanted nothing to do with her physically. At least not in _that_ way.

Rey knew she had it bad for her roommate when she found herself thinking about Ben when she touched herself, when she’d started sneaking sniffs of his body wash in the shower. The deal was sealed when he was away for the weekend on a business trip several weeks prior. She’d snuck into his overly tidy bedroom, finding his every-day cologne and absolutely dousing her favorite oversized hoodie in the stuff. While she was completely ashamed of herself, she couldn’t deny the fact that she slept so much better that night, after getting off several times surrounded by the smell of Ben.

Sure, she was a bit of a creep, but there was no harm in it if Ben didn’t know, right?

He hastily reached around her frozen form, turning off the now tepid water. Yanking the curtain back, he grabbed the first towel from the counter, throwing it over her shoulders before retrieving his own. As Rey turned to finally face him, she watched as he absentmindedly began wrapping it around his waist. She couldn’t help but snort.

“I feel like it’s a little late for that, you know, considering…” she pointed out, trying to keep her tone light-hearted, which was more difficult that she’d anticipated. Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t mad at him, she was _turned on_.

He met her eyes, head hung in shame, and if she wasn’t mistaken, tears in his eyes. “Rey, I am so, so sorry. I don’t know why that happened, and I’m beyond disgusted with myself—”

“Ben,” she interrupted gently. “It’s okay. Really.” She didn’t know where to go from there. She knew from experience that it would take a lot more than just these few words to change his mind. “Besides,” she shrugged, her brain deciding to make matters worse by continuing to speak, “I’ve had worse sexual encounters.” Sadly, she wasn’t kidding.

Ben balked, completely taken aback. Judging from his reaction, that’s most definitely not what he’d expected her to say. He’d already seemed surprised by her lack of sheer anger, and this took it well beyond a step further.

“You’ve _what_ ,” he spluttered, eyes wider than she’d ever seen them before. Before she could stop herself, she smirked, not even trying to hide her quick once over of his body. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied, nonchalant. “Wanna help me dry off? It’s getting rather chilly.”

Ben was frozen for several more moments before nodding mutely, stepping out of the shower before helping her out. Standing on the small, shabby bathmat, Ben quickly wiped her down from head to toe before attempting to get her hair wrapped up. After several failed attempts, he finally managed to get the damn towel to stay. Realizing that she was once again naked in front of him, he adverted his eyes as he unwrapped the useless towel around his waist, wrapping her up instead.

Once he finally removed the obnoxious trash bags from her casts, she led him to her room once again, directing him on what clothes she wanted to wear. He’d seemed to drag his feet, keeping his head down. Rey frowned, unsure how to get her roommate out of his post-accidental-nut funk.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she caught his leg with her foot as he tried to get to her dresser. She’d lived with Ben for long enough at this point to know that this would be something that he wouldn’t want to talk about yet, or preferably ever. Rey was usually the same way, but this was only day 1 of what the next six or so weeks were going to look like. She couldn’t live with a sulking Ben for that long without going insane.

“Hey,” she murmured. “Can you look at me?” she asked kindly, not wanting to further spook the poor man. She got her ankle around his calf, gently pulling the large man over. He slowly took a seat next to her on the bed, glancing up at her, head still lowered. Rey tilted her head forward, shaking the precariously wrapped up towel off her hair. She leaned into his shoulder, providing him with the most physical comfort she could give him at the moment. They sat there together for a moment in silence, enjoying each other’s company.

“You know I’m not mad at you, right?” Rey asks eventually, tilting her head up to peer over at him. She felt his chest rise and fall with a sigh. “Yeah,” he replied quietly after a brief pause. Rey’s heart clenched for the sweet man beside her. He was always so hard on himself, and it always made Rey feel sad. “I mean it. I’m fine if you’re fine.”

She could hear him swallow thickly. He simply nodded in reply, closing his eyes and leaning his head on hers. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company, both soaking in the realization of what the next few weeks were going to entail.

Sadly, in Rey’s opinion, the moment ended entirely too soon, her stomach growling loudly. She groaned, gently pushing against him to lift her head back up. He lifted his head, looking down at her.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Help me get dressed so we can eat?” she asked. Ben’s small, crooked smile returned. “Sure thing.”

She’d decided to forgo a bra, going for an old, baggy t-shirt with the name of Ben’s former college written across the chest. While it was no secret that she would occasionally (frequently) ‘borrow’ Ben’s t-shirts and hoodies, she still blushed as he pulled it from her drawer.

“So _that’s_ where this has been,” he mused, looking back at Rey, still perched on the edge of her mattress. She looked away, feeling sheepish all of a sudden. “Sorry. I thought you knew I borrowed it sometimes. It’s just really comfy. Obviously you can take it back,” she apologized.

For some reason, putting all of these things into words felt weird. All these months, these little intimate details about their home life had gone unspoken, not acknowledged. Small things like doing chores together, running the occasional errand for one another, Rey borrowing his clothes. All these things had occurred naturally, never given a definition. But now Rey felt like she was on the verge of giving it a definition, something she’d dreaded touching, no matter how badly she wanted it. Why fuck up this beautiful thing they’ve already got, right? She could live with this.

Maybe.

Ben smiled, shaking his head. He placed the shirt down next to her. “Keep it. It suits you,” he said simply. Turning back to her dresser, he pulled out her Nike shorts and underwear. “It’s too small for me now anyways.” It was a lighthearted comment, the simple stating of a fact. But when Rey’s brain caught up, her blush deepened. The shirt was already huge on her petite frame. If that was _small_ on him, what the fuck would _actually_ fit him now?

It instantly became Rey’s new favorite t-shirt.

Ben got her dressed quickly, having a better idea of what he was doing this time. And from what Rey could tell, he didn’t even pop a boner this time. They seemed to be making progress.

“I know you’re starving, but mind if I get dressed real quick?” he asked. “Sure thing,” she chuckled, appreciating the sight of her roommate’s ass as he left the room.

It was likely that Ben was still embarrassed by what had just gone down in the shower, but Rey idly wondered how he would feel if he knew that she was _still_ wet? Not just from some “natural reaction” she had while being touched so intimately, but from it being _him_ , and from feeling his hot cum on her bare ass. That was a feeling she’d never thought she’d experience, although ideally it would have been under vastly different circumstances.

She decided to take matters into her own hands as much as she could, getting up and heading into their small kitchen. Judging from the warm summer light already streaming through the cracked window, along with the old analog clock ticking away at the wall, it was well past breakfast time. It was quickly approaching 11.

Rey was surprised. She wasn’t usually one to sleep in late, even on the weekends. She strove to make the most of every minute of every day, still not over her deep-seated fear of wasting a precious moment, in which everyone else would be moving forward except her. There was a constant need to be doing something productive, something to put her ahead of as many people as possible, desperate to never feel hunger again, to always have a roof over her head.

These six weeks were going to kill her.

It was the millionth time she’d had this realization already, as she tried to put one casted up arm through the fridge door handle, wincing in pain as she began to pull. Up until now, she hadn’t noticed the pain too bad, finding it easy to ignore when she was hungry, tired, and being in Ben’s awkward, yet comforting presence.

Accepting defeat, which was much easier when Ben wasn’t physically there to witness it, she slumped down on one of the stools at their breakfast bar. She surveyed their shitty little kitchen, eyes skimming over all the now-useless appliances and products that littered the space. The gravity of her situation was once again catching up with her, feeling herself become more and more miserable at the thought of all the thing she _couldn’t_ do for now.

Ben stepped in before Rey could mope further. When she heard his footsteps, she turned to look at him. He’d decided on black sweatpants, along with a t-shirt that matched the one Rey was sporting, with Takodana University across the chest, in what she presumed to be an even larger size than the one she was wearing. She caught his eye, smiling. He returned her smile. She felt like she was back in middle school, the way that the sight of him in a matching shirt made gave her butterflies.

‘It was probably just the first shirt in his drawer,’ she attempted to reason with herself as Ben stepped up to the kitchen counter, instinctually reaching for the coffee maker. ‘I doubt he would go out of his way to dig up some old shirt like that.’

“What sounds good?” Ben asked, getting his coffee started. “Strawberry Pop Tart?” they said simultaneously. “Great minds think alike…” he chuckled. After starting the pot brewing, he went over to their small pantry, grabbing the jumbo size box of value brand pop tarts.

Rey couldn’t help the smile that was still spread across her face. The fact that he’d known exactly what she wanted… it wasn’t like that was the only thing that she would eat for breakfast. Or for a snack. Or whenever. It was by far her favorite food, so it wasn’t surprising that he’d guessed correctly.

Ben came over and sat the foil-wrapped pack in front of her, absent mindedly turning towards the fridge to prepare his own breakfast. Rey frowned down at her own breakfast, which was laying uselessly in front of her.

Much like herself, Ben was a very food-motivated person. It wasn’t shocking that his mind was already on his own meal. She didn’t blame the poor man, especially after the past 12 or so hours. Neither of them were used to this new lifestyle yet in so many ways. And she was bound and determined to not let her situation interfere with Ben’s life an much as physically possible.

She glanced back up at her roommate, trying to judge how busy he was. Ben had his back to her, now whisking what she presumed to be several eggs. While Rey preferred her highly processed, ready to eat food, Ben preferred actual food, stuff that actually took time and effort to prepare. It made for a strangely domestic scene; Ben’s silhouette softened by the sunlight streaming through the window in front of him. It made Rey’s heart clench, being reminded of what she could never have with him. At least, not in the way she wanted.

She sighed, casting her eyes down once again, focusing on the task at hand, with the only issue being her incredibly limited use of her hands. Her brow furrowed in concentration, trying to figure out the best way to first unwrap, and then consume the pastry sitting in front of her.

All her life, Rey had provided for herself, always refusing to ask for help. And by god, she wasn’t about to change. She was going to eat this damn pop tart one way or another. After a few moments of fumbling, she managed to get the package torn open with the use of her thumbs and pointer fingers. She silently thanked whatever god or deity or doctor who was responsible for her keeping the use of her thumbs and shoulders.

Foil package now open, she glanced back up at her roommate, who was still happily cooking his own breakfast. She knew she didn’t really have the right to be mad at the poor man. This was an incredibly huge lifestyle change for both of them that they weren’t used to yet, and it wasn’t his job to take care of her. But this logical reasoning didn’t prevent Rey from starring daggers into Ben’s back. Deep down, she wanted him to turn around, for him to notice her need and to tend to her. Both in terms of her breakfast, and otherwise. But she was entirely too stubborn.

She could manage.

Grabbing one of the sugary rectangles by the corner, she dragged it out of the package, pulling a shit ton of crumbs out along with it. She winced, knowing that she would likely not be the one to clean up the mess.

Ben still hadn’t turned around.

Rey tried to eat the pop tart like normal, instinctually attempting to bring it towards her mouth. All she achieved was bringing her arm up, unable to actually bring it to her mouth. Despite knowing deep down that this attempt wasn’t going to be successful, she still felt hot tears stinging her eyes, feeling her bottled up anger quickly threatening to boil over. Her arms were now beginning to throb, the dull pain finally catching up with her.

She knew it was ridiculous to get so worked up over a damn breakfast pastry, but it was the principal of it that bothered her. She’d always taken care of herself, never learning to rely on anyone else. While not being able to shower by herself was embarrassing, the thought of her not being able to feed herself was downright terrifying on a deep level for her. She tried to be rational, knowing that she no longer had to worry about her food supply, and that Ben wouldn’t let her go hungry. But the pain of not always having food during her neglectful childhood was still stung. To Rey, this was a fear that would take a lifetime, or longer, to recover from.

Before she knew it, a single, fat tear rolled down her cheek. Followed by another one. And another one.

Rey tucked her head to her chest, eyes squeezed shut, willing her tears to stop. But it was no use. The events of the previous day were finally catching up to her, now that she’d had a brief moment to herself, in which she was awake enough to process everything. As her tears wetted her cheeks, she became even more pissed, knowing there was nothing she could do to hide the evidence of her breakdown.

While it only had to have been a minute or two, it felt like an eternity before Ben was done cooking his scrambled eggs. She heard the click of the burner being turned off, the cabinet opening, and the clink of the plate against the counter. Another moment passed before she heard her name.

“Rey?” Ben asked, his concern audible.

No reply.

She heard heavy footsteps as he approached the table. “Fuck,” he muttered to himself. “I didn’t even think about—I’m a fucking moron—” Rey heard a harsh scraping sound as Ben pulled his stool up next to where she was seated. Her eyes snapped open when she felt his huge, warm palm cradling her cheek, coaxing her to lift her head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. She finally looked up, hearing his soft tone of voice. She met his eyes, frantically running across her face, trying to assess the damage that his own stupidity had caused.

She couldn’t hold his gaze, squeezing her eyes shut, shaking her head. She felt like a fucking child, unable to do anything for herself, leaving her poor, sweet roommate to take care of her for the next several weeks.

Ben knew better than to fight her at this point. Instead, he turned his attention towards the haphazardly opened pop tarts on the table, picking up one of the sugary rectangles. “Let me help you,” he murmured. He knew Rey was stubborn as hell, but Ben knew she would always cave when it came to food.

Almost hesitantly, he brought the pastry to her lips, watching, waiting to see her reaction. Rey held his gaze, slowly opening her mouth, taking a bite of the pop tart. With anyone else, Rey would’ve felt incredibly awkward, looking into someone’s eyes while being fed. But with Ben, there was no judgement, no pity like she’d been so used to. Instead, he simply felt like home.

After taking her second bite, Ben pulled his hand back. “Here,” he muttered, scooting the stool back and spreading his legs slightly. “This might work better…” he trailed off, face beginning to burn red once he realized the implication. Although after what had occurred that morning, would sitting on Ben’s lap be that bad?

She couldn’t argue with him. She stood, taking the two steps needed to close the distance. Gingerly, she stepped between his legs, perching herself on one of his massive thighs. Ben’s hand naturally held her waist, picking up the pop tart again with the other.

“Wait,” Rey interrupted his attempt to feed her again, turning to look at him. She wasn’t prepared for how close their faces now were. She could feel the heat rising on her cheeks. And if she wasn’t mistaken, she could see the tips of Ben’s large ears poking out from his hair, a bright shade of crimson. “You need to eat your breakfast too.”

He shrugged. “It’s not going anywhere,” he tried to reason with her. She gave no reply, looking at him pointedly. Deep down, he knew there was no arguing with her. Knowing her, she’d refuse to eat any more until he started on his own breakfast.

“Fine,” he conceded. Much to Rey’s sadness, his hand left her hip, instead taking the half-eaten pop tart, grabbing a fork with his right. “Is it ok if I just hold it?” he asked, situating his arm so that it was within reach while trying to get his eggs to cooperate one-handedly. Rey nodded, taking another bite.

They ate in silence, both of them evidently too hungry to talk. Rey managed to down her pop tarts in record time, Ben finishing up not too long after her. Luckily for the two of them, drinking was less of a challenge, thanks to the surplus of straws Rey always saved whenever they got takeout. Ben poured her a glass of orange juice, digging up some old extra-strength Advil for her to take.

He got her settled on the couch, turning on her favorite show, Worst Cooks in America. After asking if she was ok for the thousandth time, he finally felt comfortable leaving her alone for a while as he went back to his room. He closed the door behind him, taking a minute to process his morning. He sat on the edge of his bed, running his hands through his hair and letting out a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding.

He was completely fine to take care of Rey entirely for the next several weeks, but damn it was going to be the death of him. He’d worked so hard to ensure that his feelings for her didn’t get in the way of their roommate relationship, wanting Rey to feel comfortable in her own home. And especially now, he would never dream of taking advantage of her in any way at all, but he didn’t want her to feel like he was. Especially after what had happened in the shower…

He had to snap out of it. There was no way in hell he was going to make it the next few weeks if he kept this up.

Ben got up, pulling his laptop out of his work bag. He headed back to the living room, joining Rey on the opposite side of the couch. He smiled, feeling her cold little feet automatically burrow under his legs.

“Cold?” he asked, glancing over at her. She hummed contentedly, toes curing against his thigh. They say through several episodes, Rey watching avidly as Ben glanced up on occasion, trying to get as much work squared away as possible. While Ben didn’t particularly like his job, or the people that he was working for, he did appreciate the fact that he was technically able to work fully online.

While he wasn’t happy about the circumstances, Ben was happy about the fact that he would be spending more time with Rey. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t spent a significant amount of time together before, but it was always briefly in the mornings before work and class, and in the evenings when they’d both get home, tired and hungry. Ben certainly enjoyed their tradition of getting take-out every Friday night, running errands together, and all the typical things one would do with a close friend. But most of all, Ben was excited to just simply exist with Rey. Not doing anything special, not saying anything, simply enjoying her company.

**********************

This turned out to be how their entire first week was spent; copious amounts of Food Network and sitting on the couch, occasionally interrupted by bathroom breaks and snack breaks.

They were slowly but surely slipping into a routine. Ben would help Rey shower in the mornings, eat breakfast, and then get her comfortable for the next few hours while he worked. They’d eat lunch, repeat the getting-comfortable-and-working process, then eat dinner.

By the end of the first week, Rey was getting antsy. She was fed up with watching TV all day, wanting to do something, _anything_ that would be more engaging than the television. She’d been cooped up on the couch, getting to the point where she was sore from laying on the damn thing for so many hours a day, only to be followed by more hours of her laying in bed, getting an unsatisfying night’s sleep. It was turning out to be an obnoxious cycle, and she wasn’t bothering to hide it anymore.

It was the Monday following her accident, barely over a week, and Rey was absolutely over it.

She hadn’t even been up for an hour yet, but she’d managed to find several things to snap at Ben about. His first grievance was opening the blinds in her room first thing when he came in, the harsh light grating against Rey’s pulsing headache. Then, he’d accidently pulled her hair while taking her pajama top off before showering. Then, he apparently didn’t get all the conditioner out of her hair. Last but not least, he poured her a glass of apple juice instead of orange juice, and that had almost brought Rey to tears.

Ben couldn’t understand for the life of him how he’d managed to fuck up that badly within the span of an hour. He’d thought that things were finally settling down…

Ben had decided to work at the kitchen bar that day, wanting to give Rey her space on the couch. He heard a groan, followed by the rustling of the blanket that she was curled up under. “Can you get my heating pad?” she called. “Sure thing,” he replied automatically, quickly finishing up the sentence he was typing. “Where is it?” he asked, realizing he didn’t know where the item in question was. “Top shelf in my closet.”

Entering the now familiar bedroom, he pulled her closet doors open, greeted by the sight of a chaotic, not at all arranged closet. ‘Maybe we can make a project of this,’ he mused idly, looking for the ancient, tan heating pad. Finding it on top of a pile of sweaters he’d never seen his roommate wear, he returned to the living room, finding Rey curled in on herself, not even looking at the TV anymore.

He plugged the heating pad in, going over to the miserable looking form on the couch, crouching down. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “Hey,” he said softly, eyes trying to read her thoughts from the small sliver of her face that he could actually see. From what he could recall, he’s never seen her look like this.

“Where do you want this?” he asked, holding up the rapidly heating device. She let out another low moan, eyes squeezed shut and brow furrowed as she slowly unfurled herself. He could tell that it was still awkward for her to try to maneuver herself without the use of her arms. “Stomach,” she groaned, on her side, uncurled enough to let him to get the heating pad around her middle.

“Is that ok?” he asked, still crouched down at her level. He was starting to get concerned. It wasn’t like Rey to act like this. Ever the strong, independent woman she was, she never let anyone see when she was hurting, in any way at all. Ben could only recall a few times in which he’d seen her like this. And it had always been because…

Shit.

Rey shifted, opening her eyes and meeting his concerned gaze. “Ben, don’t freak out,” she began, instantly causing Ben’s heart rate to rise, “but I think my period started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an INCREDIBLY late update that probably nobody wanted, but like many people right now, I've been absolutely slammed with school, and I actually totally forgot about this until I saw someone had commented, and that honestly encouraged me to pick this back up again. I'm NOT a good writer at all, but I still think this is a really fun hobby, so I figured if someone took the time out of their day to read this AND comment, it's worth putting it out there. So I want to genuinely thank the people who actually read this garbage lol.
> 
> A


End file.
